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音樂盒

Lights, ornaments and Christmas trees filled the mall. Everyone and his brother was there because Christmas was only two days away!

Thirteen-year-old Joy had just finished her Christmas shopping. Finding presents for her parents, grandparents and siblings had been child’s play. She knew them well enough that finding them presents was like taking candy from a baby.

ornament：裝飾（品） everyone and his brother：很多人 child’s play：很容易的事、輕而易舉的事（= very easy to do） like taking candy from a baby：容易、輕而易舉（= something is very easy to do）

Then Joy bumped into her classmate Nick, the least popular student in school. He wore weird clothing, and he had a high-pitched voice and face only a mother could love.

“What are you doing for Christmas?” said Nick with a smile that showed all his yellow teeth.

“I’m opening presents and having dinner with my family,” said Joy, trying to be polite. “What about you?”

bump into：巧遇、不期而遇 bump：撞到 weird：奇特的、怪異的 high-pitched：尖聲的、聲調高的（= voice is very high） a face only a mother could love：長得很醜（= someone is ugly）

“My parents are away,” he said. “So I’m stuck with my uncle, who doesn’t like me very much.”

Joy wasn’t sure how to respond, so she said goodbye with an awkward smile. She felt sorry for Nick since he must feel lonely. But that wasn’t really her problem. She was not her brother’s keeper.

be stuck with someone：不得不和…在一起 stuck：困住了、被卡住了 awkward：笨拙的、尷尬的 her brother’s keeper：為某人負責 keeper：看守的人

文法： know … well enough that … was like …（很了解…所以…）

特別補充： full of joy：生活充滿歡樂 the National Mall：國家廣場 mall rat：購物狂 bump into something：撞到…東西